Overcoming Distance, Thoughts and Wishes
by ExtremeSManpig
Summary: To see each other again, both of them would try hard from each of their views. They missed each other so much, yet the distance between them was exceptional. A sequel to both the OVA and manga, latter is not required as I explain the manga exclusive characters and plot points, but it's better if you experience both first.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own "Voices of a Distant Star", the original story this is based on belongs to Makoto Shinkai and Comix Wave Films, while the manga is owned by Kodansha. Please support their releases._

_This story is based on the Manga rather than the OVA. The story is written in a way where you can sort of get to know the manga exclusive characters so it's not a necessary watch, but regardless I recommend trying the manga since it expands on the story and characters far more than the original OVA did due to its longer runtime._

_Final note, this story is heavily inspired by "At the Gates of Agartha", written O-Shnap, so if you like this story consider reading and reviewing that story as well._

* * *

I sat alone in my dark dormitory room.

Slowly, I continued eating the emergency rations, ones that had been stored on the Lysithea for accidents like the one we were currently going through.

I crunched on the rough, blocky biscuit and forced it down.

It tasted so bland.

The food we had to eat was essentially CalorieMate without any of the joy or flavour, a mass-produced artificial nutrient bar manufactured for the sole goal of giving high sustenance at top efficiency above all else.

It was essentially a barely-edible block of matter made purely for survival and nothing else.

Whilst that was the case, I acknowledged that consuming it was necessary to survive, that if I didn't eat properly, I would quickly starve.

So I choked the mass-produced nutrient bar down, even though I couldn't stand the taste.

The reason for this emergency was because our ship, the Lysithea, had been stranded in the orbit of Agharta for the past few days. After what I could describe as a legendary battle with the Tarsians, we still managed to come out of the battle alive. But as a result, the Lysithea ended up heavily damaged, to the point it couldn't move and was purely relying on backup energy.

This meant we couldn't sortie in tracers either, we were essentially sitting ducks.

Our only hope at this point was that a rescue team from Earth would come and save us, although thankfully, there was already conformation that one was coming, one with a considerable crew as well.

However, despite the positive news, a few of the survivors had already begun having doubts about whether or not we would all last until the rescue team's arrival. After all, our resources were low, and many Tarsians on other planets were still at large.

It wasn't unreasonable to be pessimistic in this situation.

However, I had hope that the rescue team would arrive in time for us, and until that would happen, I had to sustain myself to the best of my ability.

So for today, I decided to push on.

I crunched on my rations and immediately gagged a little bit.

I said all of that to myself, but the grainy flavour really was something I would never get used to.

I could see myself losing sanity simply from living off these bars for the next 8 years or so…

Then again, I guess I should be thankful rations even reminded me of CalorieMate to some extent, I have a few fond memories of eating some with Noboru after visiting the corner store since they were cheap and filling.

Ah…Noboru…

My mind seems to of drifted towards thoughts of him again.

Every little thing I find, somehow they always cause me to look back on the past I once had.

I slowed my chewing as nostalgic images flashed before me.

The summer rain, the cicadas on a sunny day, the train stations, and even simple convenience stores.

Even now, even though I'm already used to life in the Lysithea, I still remember the past as if those memories were made yesterday.

Spending time with him on Earth must've truly been the happiest moments of my life.

…

In all honesty, I was very surprised when I saw his name on the list of people on the rescue team.

In fact, a part of me assumed that he would've moved on from me long ago.

But…the fact he signed up implied that he still remembered me…

Even more so, he may have been missing me as I did for him.

He yearned for me so much that he willingly gave up his life on Earth to see me again…

It was not something I could've predicted…but…for some reason it didn't feel that surprising either…

Our thoughts…

Our feelings…

Perhaps we've shared them all this time…despite our distance…

As I finished the nutrition bar, I realised…

As the warm thoughts and memories filled me, I had completely forgotten about my food's awful taste.

* * *

"Hey, Mikako?"

I heard a familiar voice call out to me as I was strolling through the hallways of the Lysithea.

I glanced to my left and saw Miwa sitting on the floor of the corridor, gazing out the window of the Lysithea.

Miwa was the captain of our unit, she was the person who took on the responsibility of training me and my fellow tracer squadron, and she was also who took care of me the most when I was on the Lysithea.

When I would get into trouble, Miwa was one of the few people who would let us off easy. She was very laid back, yet she was also very mature and reliable. She was especially inviting to younger girls like me, along with my friend Hisa for when she was still stationed here.

As of right now, Miwa was probably the person I had the closest relationship with, she reminded me much of an older sister that cared for her many, many siblings.

"Yeah, what is it, Captain?" I replied.

"Want have a look at Agharta with me? There's a fantastic view of it here right now."

There wasn't much else to do, so I compiled, timidly walking towards her and sitting by her side.

The entire interior lighting of the Lysithea was very dim, as we were trying to conserve as much energy as possible. This meant most of our light came from outside, more specifically, the main star of the system: Sirius, other nearby stars and the turquoise planet below.

Those were our main sources of color on this dark ship.

As I gazed out the large window, I really paid attention to the appearance of the planet, and I quickly understood why Miwa wanted me to see it.

For these past few days, I found myself often stargazing at the vast expanse of space. The truth was, with the power so low, there wasn't much else I could do to pass the time, but another reason for me looking around was because the stars and space were truly beautiful. It was no sight I could've seen on Earth, and it felt like such a privilege to gaze upon them.

But in comparison to that, the planet we orbited was somehow even more breathtaking. Its sheer size and bright green color was able to elicit so much awe, especially when contrasted to the blackness of our living conditions.

Seeing the distant waters, land, as well as the clouds dancing and morphing on the atmosphere, it was all a sight to behold.

"Wow…it's beautiful…"

Unconsciously, the words still escaped through my breath.

"See? I told you so." Miwa replied calmly.

As I stared down at the beautiful green planet, I reminded myself that it was things like this that made joining the Lysithea worth it. The sight was so beautiful, and it was one I would never be able to see if I stayed on Earth.

I thought back on how Hisa couldn't make it as far as us, and how she wasn't able to see this planet as a result.

It was a shame…but at least she would arrive eventually to see it.

My thoughts drifted again, there were so many people I wish could've shown this sight to.

My family.

My friends.

And Noboru…

…

No…I needn't long for that. He was coming, I had to continue believing in him.

He and Hisa were definitely coming with the rescue crew, and we would be saved eventually, we merely had to focus on survival for now…

That is what constantly I told myself, to remind myself that I merely had to wait and survive before he would arrive to rescue me…

I merely had to wait…about eight years…

Drifting on the broken down Lysithea, living off emergency rations, in little light.

It…it was going to be so difficult…

Deep down, I believed everything would be fine. I believed I would survive, that I could overcome this hurdle, and I kept using those thoughts as my driving force to keep living.

But even then, there was a part of me that doubted it.

A voice inside that told me I may not make it through.

That this purgatory would be too difficult for any human…

The worst part was, I couldn't deny that voice either…

I shifted around as I sat in increasing discomfort, staring at the planet…

…I might not last long enough to even see him…

I just wanted him by my side…

Right here, right now…

I wanted to feel him close to me in this moment…

I wanted to hear his voice, I wanted to see his face, I wanted to laugh with him, and lean on him like I used to…

I realised I was shivering, and that my face had become a bit wet.

My emotions had begun to overflow, and I found myself crying.

I wiped my face with my arm, sniffling and coughing a bit, and suddenly I felt an arm wrap around me.

It belonged to Miwa, who was letting me rest on her.

"It's okay to cry Mikako, everyone has to show their weakness sometimes. Even the strongest of us like you."

Even now, Miwa still acted as a pillar I could lean on when I would give in a little.

"Captain…"

"Call me Miwa. Right now, I'm not your captain, but your friend."

"Ah…Miwa…thank you…"

I cried into Miwa's shoulder, letting loose the pent up feelings and doubts I had. Gently wetting her shirt as she kept her arm cozily around me.

"Let it out Mikako, everyone has at least some doubts about all of this. But I honestly believe that everything will be fine in the end, and that includes your safety as well. Hisa will come along with everyone else on the rescue team, and we'll all survive somehow. You can always cry, but also remember to never lose your sight of the hope in front of us."

"Yes…Miwa…I'll make sure of that."

She giggled, with a face of genuine care.

"Good."

She always seemed to know exactly when I was bothered by something and would be able to act as a supporting pillar for me when I needed comfort. Appreciating her presence, I sat there for a while.

"…Were you thinking of something at home?" Miwa inquired.

"…Yes, I was actually…an old friend that I really miss…I was thinking about how much I wanted to see this view with him…"

A spark seemed to glimmer in Miwa's eyes.

"Oh? It's a guy? Was he perhaps your boyfriend?"

I felt my cheeks heat up a little bit.

"No no…we weren't a couple. We were just really close and knew each other for a very, very long time…and even though our time apart has already been quite long…"

I inhaled and smiled, our memories together were so bittersweet now.

"…I still I miss him a lot. It's been so long for him, the messages I send will only reach version of him far in the future. I just really want to see him again…and…when I do, I want to finally tell him how I feel…"

Miwa seemed to realise the emotions I was going through, and her tone changed.

"Oh, I see…I'm sorry, I…can't say much to help with that…"

She looked out at the beautiful planet once again, looking into the distance.

"Moving on from our lives on Earth is hard for everyone, many of us are still getting over it…I don't know if this helps, but if you're lucky…maybe one day you can eventually make peace with it. It won't easy…but it's possible. Even then, I can confidently say that you're definitely not the only one on the Lysithea that has these kinds of feelings from time to time."

I noticed Miwa staring off wistfully herself when she said that.

Perhaps she too had people she longed to see again.

"Thanks, Miwa…I appreciate it, but there's also no need to worry. When I looked at the list of people on the rescue team, I saw his name on the list of chosen candidates. As long as we survive as planned, he'll be coming to our rescue along with Hisa…hopefully."

Miwa turned to me with a look of intense surprise.

"What? He's coming here…?! Then…after eight whole years, he got accepted into the program to help the Lysithea?!"

I nodded, it's all that I could presume.

After a long awkward pause, Miwa grabbed my shoulders and faced me, staring me right in the eyes.

"Mikako, I am completely serious when I say this…but you must promise me this one thing. When you see that boy again…when the two of you are reunited, you must make sure that you cherish every waking moment that you spend with him."

This was the most serious she ever sounded, I fond myself gulping under her glare.

"You are incredibly, incredibly lucky to have someone that cares this much for you. I'm almost certain that you alone were the only reason that he signed up for the rescue team. Even after eight years, he probably never once forgot about you, and now he's even decided to abandon his life on earth for the sake of pursuing you."

She focused on me with a fierce expression, as if she were ordering me to do what she was saying.

"Please Mikako, once you see him again, make sure to never let him go. There are extremely little people that would go to such lengths for one person, and even less that are able to do so. Mikako…I don't know how well you may realise this, but you're truly blessed to have someone like him."

As I looked back into Miwa's serious expression, I felt myself blushing.

She was right, Noboru had decided on his own accord to give up his entire life all to see me again.

As the fact began to settle in, I…truly began to feel the strength of our relationship.

Even when we were so far apart, we were still this close with each other.

"Yes…I'll make sure to do that." I finally replied to her.

Miwa immediately softened up in response to my reply.

"Good. Then, when he arrives, please introduce us to each other. I'd love to meet him."

We were soon found by other crew members and called to tend to the injured again, after all there were many who were still slowly recovering from the big battle against the Tarsians.

After the talk, I found that my conversation with Miwa had helped me feel a lot better. I was left with an even stronger feeling of motivation and will to work hard for the crew and survive on my own.

I would live through the next eight years, and I would see Noboru again.

Our connection was too strong for such things to break it.

It will survive, no matter what happens.

* * *

I dipped a small towel into a tub of warm water.

After the battle against the Tarsians, there was still a huge amount of injured people on the Lysithea, with wounds of varying levels of graveness. Due to the lack of active hands and available staff people, I found myself often tending to some of the injured when I had free time since it was one of the few productive things I could do for the crew at the time.

I wrung out the warm water from the wet tower it out before gently using it to help clean up the stains and bruises of the person in front of me.

The person I was tending to was a young boy about my age, a boy named Teru. I had seen and talked to him occasionally for work purposes, but I couldn't say we were that close. He was one of my classmates, so we did notice each other, but other than his name, I didn't know him well.

Still, he was my fellow pilot, and similarly to me, he fought bravely in the final battle, so he deserved at least that.

"Is it hot?" I asked him.

"No, the temperature is just fine, thank you…"

He gave me a smile in spite of his grave injuries, it was encouraging to see.

Unlike me who managed to come back in one piece, Teru had suffered greatly. Due to his tracer taking a hit on starboard, he had been flung to the left in his cockpit when he got hit.

As a result from the accident, his leg was broken and the left side of his face was damaged by the shrapnel made by the impact. It was a considerable hit, and I couldn't imagine how tough it was for him.

In spite of this, from the few times I tended to him, I got the impression that he seemed quite accepting of his situation.

"I'm really sorry I can't do more for your injuries Teru, with the technology of the ship inactive, basic first aid is really the most we can do right now."

Teru nodded.

"It's okay, I'm mostly glad I'm alive to begin with…"

Acknowledging this, I continued cleaning his leg as I began replacing his bandaged leg with a newer set.

I noticed while I was doing this, Teru was averting his gaze from me.

"Is something wrong Teru?" I asked

"No, no…nothing's wrong, it's just…"

He paused for a moment before looking at his leg, his smile seemed to turn somewhat wistful in that moment.

"I wanted to ask you…how are you able to be so strong…?"

He asked me just that one question.

"In class, you're a genius, you're able to learn everything so quickly and get the highest marks, yet you seem so closed off from others and don't even study with most others. In combat, you always manage to hold your own against almost anything, and even in the last fight, you were such a big contribution to the battle that some people say you were the person who saved the Lysithea itself…"

He sighed and paused briefly.

"How can you be such an amazing person Nagamine, what drives you…?"

I lowered my gaze upon hearing his question, I couldn't really give him an easy reply.

It just came with my nature, yet…the reason I fought so hard was…

"Mmm, that's a difficult question to answer Teru…even for me…"

I had to think about the question myself.

"I've always been praised for being talented, yet I never really thought much about it until I was chosen to become a tracer pilot…I've actually had a lot of doubts and regrets about everything since, yet…why I still do my best is…well…"

I looked out into the vastness of space.

This ship was my home now, I've gotten so familiar with it.

Yet, it also felt so alien to me at the same time.

"…I guess, I just continue doing my best so I can continue living. To protect everyone here, and to protect myself, that's my purpose, that's what drives me. I keep moving forward, in hopes I can finally get to a place I want to be."

I stared at the black stars.

Was that it? To just continue going?

I couldn't think of any other reason.

Teru seemed to nod, understanding.

"I see, you're more normal than I thought Nagamine…that makes me glad."

I looked back at him, wondering if my answer satisfied him.

He spoke up again,

"You know Nagamine, during class I always felt like there was this gap between you and everyone else that made you seem kind of untouchable for most of us normal pilots. You were always so successful, like a natural-born genius. Yet, talking to you is kinda relaxing and surprisingly normal."

"Really…? I just see myself as another one of the group honestly."

I gave him my honest reply.

"You're more than that, you're unparalleled compared to us normal folk."

He praised me suddenly.

"Oh no, not really…I'm not all that…"

I didn't quite know how to respond.

"Honestly, it's kind of difficult having this talent, it's because of these skills that I had to leave my family and home on Earth."

I sighed.

"I know I should be very grateful for having this chance, and I know many people want to be in my place…I do feel like coming on board to the Lysithea was a worthwhile experience…but, if I was given the choice…I think I probably would've preferred to of stayed on Earth…"

I looked down, internally apologising to the many people who tried and failed to take my place, but instead, Teru just smiled.

"Nagamine, that's not a feeling you should be ashamed of for having. Sure, there were many people that would've wanted to be in your place, but you weren't given the choice to begin with."

He smiled.

"I guess this puts things into perspective, I think I finally understand you. Just because you're talented doesn't mean you're necessarily free, perhaps everyone's dealing with their own struggles regardless of how strong they can be."

"…Yeah…that was exactly it."

He nailed it.

Talented as I was, I was still just a person.

I had my own weaknesses, even now I just want to go home.

While talking with Teru, I realised that it had been a while since I've had any close friends.

I used to have Hisa, but she had to be left behind.

Miwa was the only one giving me true support.

So for Teru to know how I feel, it was comforting.

"…Thank you for understanding me Teru."

He grinned again.

"Don't mention it, Nagamine."

…Maybe I could still make more friends on the Lysithea.

* * *

"Huh…? What's it doing?"

"Is it looking at us…?"

"That's so creepy…"

Murmurs of confusion were quickly spreading around the crew members of the Lysithea, and admittedly I was feeling a little worried about the situation myself.

After a few days of drifting emptily in space, a group of Tarsians had found our location, and over the past few hours, they had been slowly gathering around the Lysithea and were beginning to surround it.

We were still completely immobile so we had no means of escape, and our power supply was still too low to activate any proper defenses, so in case of an attack, we were completely helpless against them.

But surprisingly, the Tarsians had not done anything to attack us.

Instead, they merely circled around the ship, peering through the windows while continuing to fly around us.

It was honestly quite a bizarre sight to see.

Their actions reminded me of dolphins, they weren't trying to attack us at all. Instead, they were simply keeping a distance and studying us, surveying us through the windows as if they were curious about our existence.

The people inside the Lysithea remained restless, but it was already an improvement from before. When we first saw the Tarsians, the entire crew was in a mass panic and everyone was fearing the worst. But now, it seemed a lot less likely that any fighting would break out.

As such, we merely waited behind the glass windows that separated us from the Tarsians that were flying freely through the blank nothingness of space.

Perhaps, it was us humans who misunderstood their species this entire time?

I couldn't answer.

"You think they actually mean well?"

A voice spoke up from behind me, I turned around to see Miwa.

"Oh, greetings Captain…I'm…not sure honestly."

Miwa chuckled in response.

"You know, I had a conversation with Hisa about this before, but the Tarsians never actually attacked us, not once. Every time we got into a battle with them, it was because we fired first."

Was that really the case?

I had sortied in many missions against the Tarsians, but never did I know the specific details. Usually, we were told to sortie the moment we saw them, I had just assumed they were aggressive.

"So…we don't actually know if the Tarsians want to harm people?" I asked.

She mirthlessly laughed.

"We don't even know if they realise what harming is. For all we know, they could think attacking like we did was a form of greetings from our race. We can't tell, we never tried direct communication."

I realised the gravity of the discovery Miwa revealed, and I looked back at the Tarsians in awe.

They continued to move around the ship, observing us with strange behaviours and patterns, but maybe, they were trying to find a way to initiate contact.

"Then…if the Tarsians are able to be peaceful, maybe we could one day communicate with each other! Perhaps…we could maybe even support each other as fellow cognitive species, we can learn from them, and they can learn from us…!"

I thought about the potential this reveal had unveiled to us.

Maybe, on that day, both of our species could grow together as one.

Miwa smiled at me.

"Yeah, you're right, the potential is limitless if we could reach an understanding. You think far more progressively than most of us humans. When people in power and scientists found out about the existence of Tarsians, all they could think of is studying them and defending ourselves from them. Never have they once thought we could find understanding and coexist peacefully. It's such a shame, we need more people like you Mikako."

I understood her point. Miwa seemed to have always felt this way about the Tarsians, and yet due to other people, she could never truly enact on her intuitions.

I merely sat in wonder, complete awe of the Tarsians as they moved around the ship.

In fact, on closer inspection, it was almost like they were dancing in space.

Maybe…one day, our thoughts can be conveyed properly.

Thoughts, just like the ones I shared with Noboru, through the years and far away. Perhaps, if they reached the Tarsians, we could cooperate, and carve a beautiful future for the both of us.

A better world, all from being able to support each other.

* * *

I awoke with a start.

Miwa had burst into my room and grabbed onto me while I was sleeping, shaking me awake.

"Hey, Mikako, Mikako wake up!"

"Hmm…what is it Miwa…?" I groggily asked.

"Mikako, I'm serious. It's an emergency."

I was still only half-awake, so I tried to brighten up to the best of my ability in response.

"…Wait, what happened…?"

"We've sighted a large clump of asteroids that are flying in the direction of the Lysithea, at the rate they're going, collision is imminent."

"Wha—…huh?!"

What…?

No…

This…couldn't be true…

"But if the asteroids crash into the Lysithea…then nobody's going to survive!"

I found myself shouting when I spoke, I feel far more awake now.

It had been only a month, were we going to die already here?

My tired mind began drawing conclusions for the worst that could happen.

A rescue team was already coming for us, would they come only to find our remnants?

Would I ultimately never be able to see Noboru again?

Worse…would he have to deal with the fact that I'd be gone despite everything he did to see me again…?

Would he have to cope with the loss of my life, and live on by himself?

"Captain, please…please tell me we have a plan!"

I looked at her with begging eyes, hoping she had an answer.

"Don't worry," Miwa replied firmly, "remember, the Lysithea was built with emergencies like this in mind."

I felt a lump in my throat.

"Our shields are down, but the Lysithea itself has extremely thick armor regardless, even areas like the glass couldn't be smashed by most of the debris. Furthermore, the living quarters of the ship are protected with multiple layers of strong metal, and the crew has already moved everything important into them for safety. We should be able to endure if we focus ourselves in the safest areas of the ship, and in case there's a breach, the ship will automatically close off areas that have no oxygen."

Miwa's brief rundown on the emergency systems of the Lysithea had helped ease me up from my initial panic, and I began to calm down and breathe slowly.

"Okay, understood Captain. Do we need to help with anything?"

She shook her head.

"We've already finished moving the important items, what's left are the things only professionals and specialised staff members need to worry about. I'll stay in here with you, we'll make it through this together, I promise."

I nodded in response, getting myself out of bed and looking through my small window.

I could see it, large asteroids that seemed to be flying closer to our location by the second.

"Those look quite big," I whispered.

Miwa put her hand on my shoulder.

"It'll be okay. We should go to the emergency chairs and brace for impact, prepare for anything."

Nodding in response, I followed her to the deployed emergency chairs on the side of my room and strapped the belts across my body, tightening the grip and locking us in.

"They're going to hit us at any time now, brace for impact Mikako."

I held on to the safety railing, gripping it tightly. Time seemed to slow as every second felt longer, I feared, genuinely for the hit that would soon assail us.

Waiting…

Waiting…

Before suddenly, the first asteroid hit.

Smashing into the side of the Lysithea, the entire room lurched to the side as the items in the room began to tumble, it was a direct collision on the outer armor.

"Aaah!"

"Mikako, hold on tightly!"

I heard Miwa re-assuring me, reminding me to keep my attachment to the chair and safety railing strong.

Another one hit, shaking the ship again.

Each impact of every individual rock made me worry a bit. Unlike in a tracer, I was defenseless along with the rest of the crew. We had to take on the brunt of the debris, and hope we would all end up safe afterward.

I felt genuinely uneasy during the entire ordeal, every hit reverberated through my body as the Lysithea tumbled further.

Hit by hit, the attacks never stopped flying forward.

I kept holding onto the railing as the tightly as I could. I felt the belts of the chair digging into my body as they kept me from flying across the room.

Eventually, the consecutive impacts seemed to pass, and the ship seemed to stabilise somewhat.

"Did we make it through?" I asked Miwa.

"Not sure, stay here, I'll check for both of us."

Miwa efficiently unbuckled her safety harness, quickly taking off all her restraints before moving out of the room.

I waited in anticipation.

One minute…

Two minutes…

I looked around, hoping things were all right, finding myself still gripping onto the railing in anticipation.

The ruckus had seemingly died down a lot and I heard certain members of staff outside. I heard a few familiar voices, and assumed everything was safe.

I quickly undid the belt and got up from the chair. I felt some strange force in one direction the moment I stood up, but I didn't pay it much mind because of the adrenaline coursing through my body.

I walked out of the room and ran right into Miwa who was running back.

"Mikako?! What are you doing, it's not safe here!" She immediately told me off.

"Eh? Sorry, I assumed everything was fine because I heard people walking outside, is something wrong?"

Miwa continued with a serious expression.

"The quick rundown is we have managed to make it past the field of debris, but after some quick inspection, the navigation crew had discovered that the force of the asteroids had pushed the Lysithea out of Agharta's orbit."

With the force on the ship leaning to one side, I quickly pieced together what Miwa was getting at, and as on cue, the both of us stumbled as the ship began to move more to one side while making an uncomfortable noise of metal creaking.

"Unfortunately, the trajectory of the rocks has pushed us too close towards the planet, we've begun being pulled in by Agharta's gravitational field."

Miwa had confirmed my suspicion, and I felt something in my chest sink.

I began to notice the staff and the crew members of the Lysithea were running around, trying to sort out what they could. Before I could even process the events properly, the speed and force of the Lysithea moving toward the planet was increasing heavily.

"Wait, but then we're going to crash!"

Miwa's grave expression in response to me had told me all I needed.

Yes, I was correct. This was far worse than the meteor shower, at this rate, we would not only burn up in re-entry, but also crash hard when we landed.

The force of the ship hurtled everyone to the side, the jolt shot me down the hallway, ending with me crashing into the wall headfirst.

I choked in pain.

"Mikako—!"

I immediately felt lightheaded as the trauma began to settle. I heard Miwa's voice in the distance as I saw her figure come towards me.

"Mikako, pull yourself together! Mikako, answer me!"

I heard Miwa's fading voice as I began to lose focus. My vision began fading in and out, and I couldn't bring myself to speak. I merely gazed into her eyes as I felt my consciousness waning. Warm blood began to trickle down the side of my head, the injury must've been severe.

As the ship began to descend faster, it was beginning to pick up serious velocity before it would crash.

Ah…at this rate…I might…

The groaning of the ship seemed to buzz out.

I felt tears fall onto me as I heard muffled cries…were they Miwa's?

Time seemed to slow down as my life flashed before my eyes. I saw nostalgic scenery of the town I grew up in. The train station, my old apartment, the countryside, and the city. I saw my old classroom, the moment I met Noboru for the first time. We became friends so quickly despite our difference in gender, and we got along so well.

"No…boru…" I felt myself whisper.

Perhaps I was dying…then, it would all end now?

So…everything had ultimately been completely meaningless…

Ah, life could be so cruel.

I just wanted to see him again…to finally be by his side…to feel him…and be content again…

If…if this was my fate…

Then at least…I wanted my final memories to be of my time with him.

I relished in the images, the memories we built together on Earth. The bright summer days, the cold winters, the rainy storms. The memories filled my eyes as I found myself drifting off.

It was then, that my entire vision was assailed by a bright golden light.

Once it appeared, it continued to shine increasingly brightly, to a point it was overwhelming.

Its presence was completely taking over.

While that happened, I noticed the Tarsians beginning to move around the ship, slowly covering it, and seemingly supporting it.

For a brief moment, I heard strange inhuman voices, all saying one thing in perfect unison.

_Do not worry. We will protect your hearts._

The voice echoed through my head before blackness assailed my vision, and I completely lost consciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

I sat alone, in my foreign, cramped dormitory room.

The clock on the wall ticked slowly as the distant hum of the ship's engine echoed through the walls.

I sighed and looked outside the window to see the vast twinkling expanse of space.

There was no solar cycle for this ship, so there wasn't any real point to the clock other than to notify us of our schedule.

Maybe it was there to give us a link to the Earth we left behind.

In the end though, it didn't really matter to me.

A week.

That's how long I've been on this ship so far, and from what it seemed, it would be one of many, many more.

Even then, I would finally be chasing after the Lysithea's long lost contrail, all these years after the it left the Earth.

…

Nevermind…contrails didn't happen in space…

I sighed and scratched my head, stretching on the chair I had in this cramped room.

The ship I was assigned to was the Horcrux 3. Merely one unit of a series, and wasn't close to the marvel that the Lysithea was.

The rescue ships we were using were created with defense and efficiency in mind only. Compared to something like the Lysithea, this was more along the lines to what one would expect from a military vehicle.

Rather than the clean white sheen of the Lysithea, our ships were much more industrial.

Basically, they were no pinnacle of human engineering.

Many people would agree that this was essentially a suicide mission. Unlike the Lysithea, our ships were borderline defenseless. If we were to be attacked by Tarsians, we would be sitting ducks with hardly any way of retaliating. We essentially had to pray that we wouldn't run into anything, and could pull off a safe rescue.

On the other hand, our rescue ships were at the very least built for the mission. On board were a good amount of supplies for a home trip, a large amount of living quarters (cramped ones but they serve their purpose), and more importantly, a reliable mini-hyperdrive engine that could take us to Agharta in relative speed.

To me, this was all that mattered.

It was enough to be worth betting my entire life on.

I snickered to myself.

In all honestly, I was making an insane gamble most people wouldn't dare to take. It required too much for so little.

My family were against it initially, but respected my wishes after seeing the resolve and effort I put into joining the military.

I had to thank them for complying with my selfish wishes.

My friends made a huge party for me the week before I left, it was so much fun.

I would likely never return to Earth to see any of them anytime soon.

This mission was quite literally my life at this point.

"So be it…" I whispered to myself.

I stared further out of the window, into the blackness of space.

An immeasurable infinity, never-ending.

However, I will cross it.

After all, I had gone so far already.

I had sacrificed everything for this one journey.

This was it, after all this time, I was finally on my way.

After all this time, she was the only thing on my mind.

"Mikako…"

Her name still slipped out of my mouth as easily as ever.

* * *

I casually strolled into the ship's cafeteria, after a whole day of reviewing procedures, I felt bored out of my mind. I casually grabbed a dinner tray and absentmindedly walked to the line.

Without me realising, I walked straight into another person.

As I fell backwards, my metal tray made a loud clatter as it fell onto the ground.

Surprised, the person I ran into began apologising.

"Ah, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

The voice belonged to that of a girl, one a little older than me but not so much that she was outside my age group. It was surprising, most people that were on this mission were middle aged to old workers who had nothing better to do or had families they had to support no matter what. I did occasionally run into the odd person my age but those interactions were rare."

"Yeah yeah, it's fine. I wasn't looking where I was going."

I casually replied.

"Ah, no it's my fault too, my mind wanders often nowadays. I don't think I've seen you before, what's your name?"

"Uh, Noboru…"

"Noboru huh…nice to meet you!"

She straightened out her long hair and signalled me to come with her.

"My name's Hisa. Wanna chat a bit? Not many people around my age here it seems."

"O-Oh, sure."

We got our dinner for the night and moved to a table on the side of the cafeteria. We had very bland-tasting beef potato curry with stale rice.

For some reason I felt excited talking to Hisa, probably because it had been a while since I made a friend at about my age.

"Wow, this tastes really bad." Hisa complained.

"Yeah," I replied, "but I guess it's cheap and easy to make for the staff."

"Perhaps, I dunno I guess I was just spoilt by my last fleet's food."

Last fleet? So Hisa had gone to space before?"

"So Hisa, why did you join this rescue operation? Most people our age wouldn't think of doing it. With these risks and uncomfortable living conditions, most people I know wouldn't volunteer for it."

She made a weird smile

"Curious about that huh? I could ask the same thing to you no?"

"I…have my reasons. It's a little personal."

"Is that so? Can't be helped I guess."

Hisa took a sip from her drink and made a sad smile afterward. She seemed friendly, but had a sense of melancholy with her as well.

I wondered if I seemed the same to her.

"I made a promise."

Hisa suddenly spoke.

"…Huh?"

"You know the Lysithea we're going to find right? I was a part of its crew.

"Wait…you were?!"

"Mhm. It was an honor but didn't feel that way. I felt really homesick back then."

"Ah…I see."

So Hisa…she felt the same things Mikako must've felt.

I couldn't imagine how many more were like that.

"During my time on the Lysithea, I met someone else like me. She had been planning on going to the school I used to attend, and we swapped uniforms one day for fun. Since then, she became one of my best friends, and she was the closest person to me on that ship."

Hisa nostalgically smiled before her face tensed up.

"However during a battle with the Tarsians, I was heavily injured, and only barely survived. My crew had to leave me behind, and my friend along with them."

"Wow…so you were part of the Lysithea's fleet huh…"

"Yeah, comparing this ship to that marvel is quite the difference. Anyways, before I left the communication range, I got into contact with her one more time and I promised I would never forget her."

I noticed Hisa's hand tighten into a fist.

"It's been 8 years since I last saw her, and I've still made true to that promise. I've long healed from those injuries, but that promise will forever remain on my heart. So when I heard the Lysithea was in critical status, I knew I had to go back for her. No matter what."

"You had to see her again right?"

Hisa nodded in response.

"I can't leave her alone. She had nobody else back then, and I can only pray she managed to make another friend."

"I see…"

I couldn't say more, I sympathised with her so painfully much.

"I'm sorry I made you tell such a difficult story."

"No, it's alright, it's nice to get it off my chest for someone else at least."

"If you say so…but now…it's only fair for me to tell you mine in return."

"Oh? You sure about that?"

"Yeah, compared to yours mine's gonna seem a little childish though."

I sighed.

"I miss someone."

"You miss someone?"

"Yeah…my childhood friend, a girl named Mikako."

Hisa immediately bolted up from the table and looked at my in the eyes.

"What did you say…?"

"H-Huh...?"

"That name." Hisa spoke "What was your friends name?"

"Mikako…Mikako Nagamine…" I stuttered in shock.

Hisa's eyes widened as she slumped onto her chair.

"No way…"

Judging from her reaction, I put the pieces together.

"Wait…Hisa, was your friend perhaps…Mikako?"

She nodded slowly.

_Oh._

I was talking to the friend Mikako had told me about on her mails.

The one she had made on the Lysithea.

"So, you were one of Mikako's friends on Earth huh?" Hisa asked.

"Aha, yeah. We grew up together, we were inseparable best friends since childhood."

"My god, that's amazing. This had to have been some sort of fate that we would meet like this!"

"You're right about that, it's just so unlikely!"

After realising Hisa was a friend of Mikako, somehow she became much easier to talk to.

All of a sudden, Hisa no longer felt like a stranger, but instead, another close friend.

Just because we had one more close friend in common.

Her eyes lit up.

"Say, tell me, what's your relationship with her? Are you her boyfriend?"

"Aha…no…not really…"

"Aww you don't have to hide anything, Mikako's essentially my sister in arms. I wanna know more about you two! There's no way you'd go to space just for any friend right?"

"Uhh…no…really it's the truth. Mikako and I were just friends…when she left…that was honestly our relationship…we never dated or anything like that…"

I sighed.

"Although…you have a point…yeah…friends huh…man…that wasn't it at all was it…?"

The faint memories of my teenage years slowly came back to me, one by one.

"It was only after we were apart…I realised she was more than that to me…"

All the memories I've spent with her…

Eating food with her…

Walking home with her…

Talking about my daily life with her…

Taking shelter from the rain with her…

"After she was gone…I just missed her so much…"

I could feel tears begin to escape my eyes.

"Ever since she left Earth…I've felt so lonely…my life felt like it was missing something…and I realised it was because she was my other half…she completed me…"

"Noboru…"

Hisa moved beside me and patted my back.

"It's ok Noboru…you can let it out…"

Her words were so comforting.

"I tried to move on from her but I ultimately couldn't bring myself to…everyone forgot about her…but I couldn't…because…because…I loved her!"

I said it out loud for the first time.

"I loved her so much…I treasured her so much…every day together with her was a blessing for me…I was happy just being with her…!"

These were my honest feelings.

"There wasn't anyone else that could take her place for me, and I never realised it until it was too late…! I've been hurting inside every day…because of that…because I missed her!"

I screamed them out to the someone that would hear and understand.

"That's why…I've chosen to come here…I abandoned every other chance in my life to get here. I need to see her again…no matter what…even if I die trying…even if there's no hope of seeing her again…I have to give it a shot…I have to tell her how I feel…otherwise I won't even be able to live anymore…"

This was my resolve.

Mikako was now my everything.

"_whew~"_

Someone from a nearby table whistled

It was then I remembered, I was in a public cafeteria.

"Sounds rough kid."

A boisterous laugh came from everyone around me, and I immediately felt like I wanted to disappear.

I was a sniffling mess in front of a half-eaten curry and made a whole speech about my feelings in front of a whole bunch of people.

"Ugh…"

I was so ashamed of myself.

A few people giggled.

"Hey, quiet down!"

A well-built, gruffy man from the another table stood up.

I recognised him, he was our unit's captain.

He made his way from his table and came up to me, before slapping me on the back, very very hard.

"H-Huh?" I timidly whimpered in surprise.

"Anyone who makes fun of this kid's lil' speech will hafta' face me. I dunno about all of you, but I was moved by what he said."

He turned to me and gave me a reassuring smile.

"Mosta' us here came just for the pay and duty honestly, but here you are doing alla' this for a woman ya' haven't seen in years. That demands respect man!"

"Yeah!" Another big man from his table spoke up, "all of my mates here could tell how strong your feelings were from that show, you've got a purpose kid! Be proud of it!"

The third one from the table spoke up too.

"All of us gotcha' back kid, go far and find her king."

Our captain grinned at his mates and gave me a can of beer.

"Here, take it, on me. You're part of the crew now so we gotta' get along. Sure's nice ta' know you've got resolve! Once we arrive at da' place, lets greet your missy with pride and joy 'right?"

I was at a lost for words.

"We'll do that for sure then, thanks Sir." Hisa spoke for me.

Our captain smiled and left back to his table, and slowly everything went back to normal.

"Wow." Hisa said, "that was quite the show you put on wasn't it?"

"Ahaha…" I laughed lightly.

I wanted to lock myself in my room until the end of the trip.

"But y'know Noboru, I agree with those three. I could really tell how much Mikako means to you, she must've been lucky to have such a close friend her life."

Hisa continued finishing her curry as she spoke.

"I can say with confidence that she missed you too. Mikako always seemed lonely when I wasn't talking to her, so I had to cheer her up often. Occasionally she'd talk about how much she missed Earth, and y'know what Noboru, I'm sure you were always in her thoughts whenever she did."

She smiled at me, kindly.

"Lets find her together Noboru, and then you can tell her just how you feel."

I looked at her wistfully and then snickered.

"Yeah…lets both see her again, Hisa."

* * *

"Horcrux 1 to Horcrux 3, is there anything in your sector? Over."

"Negative, just debris n' a loada' space, over."

"Copy that, move onto searching the next sector, over."

"Roger that, continuing search, over."

Our ship cruised through the orbit of Agharta, slowly surveying the emptiness of space as we continued our search.

It had been about two months since we had left Earth, during this time I got myself very familiar with the Horcrux 3 along with the people on it. My captain and his friends were really enthusiastic with getting to know me, and they would share stories over drinks occasionally.

I would also get to know Hisa very well, we talked a lot about our own lives from before and after we went to space, and also shared our memories of Mikako with each other.

She would often talk about Mikako along with a woman named Miwa, who was apparently somewhat of a parental figure to the two of them. She described Miwa as kind and understanding, unlike most of the other instructors or staff on the Lysithea.

It really seemed like both her and Hisa helped alleviate a lot of Mikako's anxieties, and I couldn't be more grateful to them for that.

As the days went by, we eventually entered the Sirius system and arrived in Agharta's orbit. Our ships were given 12 sectors circled around the planet, and we would search the area in hopes of finding the Lysithea, or at least signs of it.

So far, we haven't found much.

I paced around inside the Horcrux 3, we couldn't do much other than keep our eyes open for any signs of the Lysithea, and I felt so useless.

Why had I come here if I was just going to sit around?

I needed to look for her now.

I realised I was being unreasonable and selfish, I knew there was a process I had to follow but still.

"I didn't come here to just stand around…"

I frustrated me to no end that I was literally where I had wanted to be for the past 8 years, yet couldn't do anything despite that.

"Mikako…I just want to see you…"

I really wanted to see her so much.

"Hey." A familiar voice sounded from the hallway.

"Oh, Hisa."

She gave me a casual wave before leaning on the wall behind me.

"Frustrating huh? We're finally here and all we can do is just wait for a sign before we can actually do anything."

"Yeah…" I replied, "I just want to do something now that I'm here…I want to see her now…"

Admittedly, that wasn't the only reason I wanted to do something, but I didn't want to say it for my own sake.

"Oh, our ship's co-pilot." Hisa said.

Sure enough, the co-pilot for the Horcrux 2 was walking through the hallway.

"He's probably on his break, must be tiring piloting the ship constantly."

"Yeah…probably.

Judging from his appearance, he looked extremely tired, he was probably going to go to sleep about now.

"Ugh…there's nothing out there…"

I caught him talking to himself.

"For crying out loud…so much of the hull's just drifting out there, ship's probably gone already…why are wasting our time here, I just wanna go home already…agh…"

I felt my expression tense up from those words as his footsteps echoed away from us before we could even react.

"The hull…broke…?" I whispered…

Hisa simply stood in silence "No…it can't really be…"

Could it actually have been for nothing?

I fell to my knees immediately, as if the puppet strings holding me up were cut.

"Heh…guess it was hopeless after all…"

Suddenly I felt all of my energy leave my body, and my existence felt weak.

I should've predicted this, everyone told me already.

Why had I bothered…

It was 8 years ago, the chances of survival were already slim, and so many of my friends told me that the mission was just for show.

"What was the point of it all then…"

I felt all hope just extinguish immediately.

"Hey…Noboru…don't listen to him."

Hisa spoke.

"I know what our co-pilot said was disheartening, but don't lose hope just yet."

I looked at her for a bit and could tell she was struggling inside too.

"I know we've both just made it here purely based on naive hopes…but…I don't want to give up just yet. If we stop hoping, who else on the team will? We need to stay strong, for the sake of Mikako and the other survivors out there."

Ah, she was right.

I couldn't stop now, I wasn't just doing this for my sake.

If Mikako was alive, she would be relying on me, all of the survivors would.

I had to stay positive.

Slowly, I got up and wiped my tears.

"Yeah, you're right Hisa…thanks."

I couldn't give up now, it wasn't like we saw the destroyed Lysithea itself, nor was the search itself over.

If there was truly no hope, we would not still be searching.

"I'll keep hoping then…it's all I can do now…"

"Right, that's the spirit Noboru."

Yes, we had to keep waiting…but even then, the feeling of wanting to do something never went away.

"H-Hey Noboru…"

"Hmm, yeah?"

"Look…"

Hisa pointed to outside a window, and beyond it, was a Tarsian.

"Huh, a Tarsian!?" I yelled, caught off guard with its appearance. "We should tell the captain!"

"Right!"

Me and Hisa dashed through the ship and entered the ship's commanding bridge, where our captain was busy organising plans with the pilots.

When we arrived, we saw a sight of complete awe.

"This can't be possible…" Hisa whispered.

Our entire ship was surrounded by Tarsians, not just one, but many.

"Uhh…"

Our captain, noticing our presence turned to us with a slight smile.

"Ah, good day kiddos. I assume ya came 'ere to report a Tarsian sightin'?"

"Uh…yeah…" I said shyly.

"Well, as ya can see, I'm well aware of 'em."

"Captain…uhm…shouldn't we be worried about this?" I asked him.

"Maybe. I dunno, I've been thinkin' that maybe there's more to Tarsians than' we all thought."

"More…? What do you mean Sir?" Hisa asked.

"I gotta quick question for ya both. How many times d'yall think we ran into Tarsians during this trip eh?"

Me and Hisa couldn't answer for sure, we assumed there weren't any since there was never any attack on our fleet, but since our discovery of them, avoiding Tarsians was extremely unlikely during space travel.

"Truth is," our captain continued, "23 encounters."

"23…? That much?!" I yelled in surprise.

"Sure! I considered sendin' a distress signal, since our fleet had no weaponry. However, I noticed a lil' detail: none of them never attacked us, not even once."

"Huh…really?"

Hisa seemed to be in quite a shock, reasonable considering she was nearly killed by them.

"Well I sure think so." Our captain said simply. "over my years, I've founda' sense for hostile intentions, n' from what I've seen, can't help but feel like these Tarsians ain't out for us."

I noticed the movements of the Tarsians, they were simply floating around us. They moved around in motions and around the cockpit, almost as if they were curious.

My time on Earth had so many classes and propaganda that painted these lifeforms as if they were threats to humanity, but from what it seemed, they were no more harmful than a dolphin.

"Wait…" Hisa spoke, "their ends, they seem to be pointing in a direction."

As I paid more attention, sure enough, the ends of all the Tarsian's "limbs" seemed to stretch in one unified direction, pointing at the planet.

"Captain, do you mind turning the ship in the direction they're looking at?"

"No harm in that, ey Yoshi, decrease forward thrust and move about 80 degrees to starboard won'tcha?"

"Roger sir."

With that, the ship began to turn in the direction of where the Tarsians were "pointing."

As we turned, the Tarsians moved further and began aligning themselves in a ring.

"Are they…signalling us to a location?"

"Could be. Akai, zoom in at the middle of the Tarsians for us all wouldn't ya?"

Soon, a holographic image of the land appeared on our screen, and we barely caught a large, metallic structure on the ground.

It took us mere moments to recognise it.

"That's the Lysithea! I'm sure of it! It's the same color and everything!" Hisa shouted out.

Our commander immediately put on communications for everyone in the cockpit to hear.

"Horcrux 3 ta' all units, we got confirmed visual identification of the Lysithea on tha' planet surface, sendin' images now. Requesting immediate regrouping n' permission ta descend to the surface, over."

The coms went out for a moment before they buzzed open again.

"This is Horcrux 1, request accepted. All units rendezvous at Horcrux 3's location and prep for re-entry. All staff return to re-entry seating arrangements, we're going down, over."

Our situation was accepted, we were going to the ship.

"Hisa!" I turned to her, and she had an apprehensive smile on her face.

"Yeah Noboru, we're going to see her now."

I could tell a grin making it's way to my face as well.

"Just wait Mikako…me and Hisa are coming for you…so please…please…"

Be alive…

* * *

Anxiety, that was all I felt right now.

I was so confident merely a day ago when we found the Lysithea in orbit, but now that the time was approaching, I felt a hundred things racing through my mind all at once.

We had safely landed on Agharta in a grassy plain a few ranges away from the Lysithea, and spent a day scouting the environment and testing whether or not the planet would be safe to traverse.

Soon enough we found that Agharta was perfectly safe for humans to survive in, with an environment very similar to Earth, one that was just a bit more humid.

After a quick debriefing, we had one mission: to reach the downed Lysithea, and find any survivors.

We were equipped with merely a handgun for emergency self-defense and bullet-proof clothe, that was all.

I felt extremely uncertain over what would soon happen.

I felt myself shaking.

Suddenly, I felt a hand grab my own.

I turned to my side, and Hisa gave me a reassuring smile.

"It'll be fine."

I gave a larger sigh and nodded, preparing myself.

Eventually, the doors opened, and we marched on into the unknown.

The moment we exited the ship, I felt a wave of fresh air hit my face.

"Wow…"

The planet made an immediate impression on me as I stepped out into its open wilderness.

Agharta had been a planet virtually untouched by humanity, Compared to the synthetic air we had gotten used to over the past two months, Agharta's air felt noticeably fresh.

In fact, since it was likely this air was far cleaner than even Earth's.

"Hah…this place is amazing…" Hisa spoke next to me.

It was similar to Earth for sure, but things like the planet's beautiful turquoise atmosphere, paler sunlight, and the moist air reminded us that we were indeed on an alien planet.

And on this planet, we marched forward into the unknown.

We walked through the plain, making our way through a long grass-like surface slowly but surely.

It was there, we eventually found the Lysithea, its large figure resting on the end of a large pit, no doubt one the ship created upon its crash. The ship's recognisable silver hull shone a faint bluish hue under Agharta's sky, gleaming in the planet's ample sunlight.

"Woah…it really is huge in person." I heard someone say in awe.

But for me, I had no time to stand around.

I had to go to it.

"Noboru, wait for me!"

I found Hisa trotting behind me as I made my way to the wreckage.

As I approached the Lysithea, I began to see its details closer.

It's proud hull was slowly rusting, and various unfamiliar flora was growing on it slowly. This meant that the ship had not crashed recently, it had lay here inactive for a very long time

Safe to say, the Lysithea had both sustained heavy damage, and hadn't been used to any capacity in a long, long while.

A part of my mind immediately came to the worst possible conclusion, however as I peaked into the ship, I realised that not only were there no bodies or human remains, but the ships interior was virtually deserted.

"…The ship's been abandoned." Hisa said from behind me.

As the rest of the team caught up behind me, Hisa and I reported our findings, which were confirmed by our captains. We were given our next course of action: one team would stay with the Lysithea and try to and salvage the valuable technology as well as information that it held on board, while the other team would split up and branch out into various areas nearby to try and find potential survivors.

My captain knew why I was here, so he let me join the search team along with Hisa, and with our new orders, we were quickly dispatched.

Hisa and I slowly traversed the grass-like plain, hoping to any sign of humans.

Eventually, we reached the end of a plain and got to a giant crevasse, and the sight we were greeted with took my breath away.

It was a giant city-like structure, built into the ground and rock like an enormous ancient ruin.

It was a sign of civilisation.

"C'mon Noboru, quickly!"

Me and Hisa began quickly descending into the city, hoping to find traces of humans.

As we reached the edge of the city however, we finally saw its inhabitants.

They weren't humans, but Tarsians.

"Ah…"

We slowly realised we had gotten ourselves into a difficult situation, due to hoping that the civilisation was human.

The tarsians didn't move, they just began to recognise our presence, and look at us.

It was unnerving.

As a few tarsians began approaching us, I reached to get my weapon.

But then I stopped as I noticed something else.

"Hisa…look."

I pointed to something hiding behind the Tarsian.

"Is that…?!"

"A human child." I confirmed.

Behind the Tarsian was a young boy, likely only about 3 years old, but a human boy.

"What's a child doing next to a Tarsian?"

Suddenly, we heard a voice.

"Amuro, Amuro!"

A young woman came running from behind the Tarsians, which moved out of the way to let her get to the boy.

"Aaah, mama!"

The boy hobbled to his mother, who picked him up and hugged him.

"Jeez, Amuro don't run away like that, you worried me!"

She then seemed to thank the Tarsians around her, all who didn't reply, but seemed to acknowledge her words.

Eventually, our eyes met.

"Wait…those suits…are you perhaps…a rescue team from Earth?"

Hisa nodded. "We're are, we've come in response to the distress call sent from the Lysithea."

"Oh my, a team did arrive after all…! Oh I'm sorry. I was a nurse on the Lysithea, both of you must be so confused…come with me, I'll take you to the other survivors."

Hisa looked at me and I nodded in response. We walked through the Tarsian city and eventually, we were taken to a large cart attached to two alien deer-like fauna, which was surrounded by a myriad of other human beings.

"Come on, we'll take you back to our town."

"Town?" I asked

Yeah, our groups are just here to exchange resources with the Tarsians, only Tarsians really live in these ground structures, we built our own place to live here.

She talked a bit with what seemed to be a man in charge who looked at us with a face of surprise before laughing and signalling us to come with him.

"Hop on, lets take you to town." He told us.

We hopped onto the cart and began departing from the stone like city, exiting it from a seemingly newly-made path in one of the holes in the mountain.

"Did you all excavate this?" Hisa asked.

"Yeah," the woman replied, "we occasionally need to trade resources that can only be obtained from subterranean excavation, so we made this pathway to reach them easier. It took us about a year of construction, but it was worth the effort."

After existing the mountain, the cart exited onto a single dirt road in the middle of the Aghartan fields.

"Wow…so you live in peace with the Tarsians?"

"Mhm. Not long after we crashed, we discovered that Tarsians don't actually have any malicious intent. They were powerful and dangerous sure, but they would never hurt humans unless provoked. Once we established contact with them, they were really understanding and willing to help us.

"Contact? You can communicate with them?"

"Mhm. Tarsians are actually very smart, so they learned our language quickly. As for us, it takes a bit of practice to hear them since Tarsians communicate telepathically instead of verbally, but once you get the hang of it, it eventually becomes second nature…oh, Amuro, don't bite your hand!"

"I see…"

It was a shocking revelation.

* * *

Eventually, we had arrived at the human settlement on the planet, and when we arrived we were greeted with a large amount of people.

Hisa contacted our captains and other teams when we arrived, so they would come to our location soon enough.

The human settlement was situated next to what seemed to be an alien forest and very large lake. The town sort of like a rural village created out of a wood-like material. They seemed sturdy, and even comfortable enough to live in. Rather than some emergency makeshift settlement, each house here resembled a rustic getaway holiday cabin. There eve seemed to be an area where there were houses above the lake on stilts, and wooden bridges connecting the overwater houses.

In its own way, it seemed like a paradise.

Eventually, the man in charge signalled us to follow him, so me and Hisa stopped sightseeing and

The people in the town began looking at us with various ranges of stunned and surprised expressions.

We slowly made our way through the village and to a large house, before the man knocked on the door.

"Give her a while, she's probably busy." He told us

As I waited, I began hearing whispers between the people around us.

"Huh…?"

"Those suits…are they perhaps…a rescue team?"

"Oh my god, they've actually arrived!"

"It's almost like we're famous, I joked to Hisa."

However, I noticed was stood in place.

"Hisa…?"

She was staring directly at something, and when I turned towards her gaze, I saw an older woman standing in the doorway of the house, looking back at her in an equally surprised expression.

Tears began to well up in Hisa's eyes as she quietly whispered.

"Miwa…"

Suddenly, she ran towards the older woman.

"Miwa…!"

The woman caught Hisa and returned her embrace.

"Hisa…it's you…? You're really here…?" She cried in a happy voice.

"Yes Miwa, it's me, I'm so happy to see you again!"

Miwa…if I recalled correctly, it was the name of the woman who took care of Hisa and Mikako on the Lysithea.

Oh, this was their beloved mentor.

They had been separated by an eight whole years, never knowing if they would be able to see each other again.

But now, they were finally reunited.

"Uhm…Miss Miwa…" I asked hesitantly.

"Ah yes, you are…?"

"Terao Noboru, we're part of a rescue team sent from Earth."

"Noboru...?"

The woman in front of me seemed to act surprised for a moment, before seeming to calm down and give me a warm smile.

"Ah…Noboru…I see…I see…"

She put her chin to her hand, and told me simply.

"We have a lot to discuss, but you have higher priorities right now, do you not?"

"Huh? Higher priorities…?"

I didn't quite catch on what she meant by that.

"…Go North from here and walk around the edge of the lake and you should find a vegetable farm. She is currently working there to help us with our harvest."

She…?

Could she mean…?!

I looked over to Hisa, who was wiping the tears off her face before she gave me the brightest smile I've ever seen her wear.

"Go. Don't worry about the complicated stuff right now, I'll handle it for now. Our captain's arriving in a bit too so you're free."

She gave me a light push away.

"I'll have my touching reunion later, go on, find her."

I nodded willingly.

"Thank you, both of you!"

I put aside all of my responsibilities and simply began running through the town.

Foreign sights flashed across my eyes wherever I went, but it didn't matter.

I had a destination: the farm on the edge of the lake.

That's all I cared about.

That's all I needed.

Making it out of the town, I ran on a simple dirt path that led me to the lake.

I ran.

My heavy protective suit was weighing me down.

The cool lake breeze hit my face as I dashed past the environment.

A fresh scent of unfamiliar grass and liquids made it to my nose as I panted heavily.

I could feel everything, I felt alive.

I saw the sight of an enclosure come up, and I picked up the pace.

I could see her again.

I had needed to meet her.

I had needed to see her.

I had needed to tell her everything.

I could finally fulfil it all.

Everything I've had to bottle up for the past 8 years.

I needed to offer all of it to her now.

It was there, I saw a few people working. People of various ages, both men and women, working hard while chatting merrily.

But most of all, among them, was a familiar girl.

Her frame was as slim as ever, but she was notably taller and looked far more athletic than before.

Her hair was still cut short, but slightly more frayed out than I remember.

She wore a simple cloth shirt and a short skirt, not unlike the school uniform she loved wearing so much.

She had definitely grown over time, and had her differences as a result.

But still, to me, that face was still immediately recognisable.

Then, as I slowly approached her, she noticed my presence and turned to me.

As our eyes made contact, time seemed to stop entirely.

I could see the realisation in her expression.

Instant recognition was plastered on her face.

Reflected in her eyes, was simply my own figure, and mine, her's.

Tears began to fall.

We took small steps.

Those small steps became a run.

By the time she was in my reach, I felt like I was flying over the pathway.

"Noboru!"

"Mikako!"

She jumped into my arms and I caught her, holding her close with a tight embrace.

I caught a whiff of her scent, it was still so familiar.

We spun and spun, arms interlocked, heads resting on each other's necks.

As we began to slow down, we simply separated and looked into each others eyes.

Her smile was so bright.

Her tears seemed to be glistening in the sunlight.

There was so much I wanted to say.

Even more I wished to convey.

It was likely the same for her as well.

However, nothing came to either of us in the moment.

So, nothing was said, and we simply enjoyed the other's presence.

A cool wind blew through the grass as we put our foreheads together, discarding our need for words.

We both knew what the other was thinking.

A shared thought we that could transcend time and space.

_"I am here."_

8 years of separation.

8 years of waiting.

8 years of loneliness.

For the first time since then, I felt complete.


End file.
